The Supreme Court will determine the constitutionality of 'geofence warrants,' which allow police to gather location history of cellphone users near crime scenes, raising critical questions about digital privacy and Fourth Amendment rights.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the legality of 'geofence warrants,' a growing investigative method used by law enforcement to collect location data from all cellphones within a specific area and time frame. This particular case involves Okello Chatrie, who was arrested for a 2019 bank robbery after police used a geofence warrant served on Google to identify individuals near the crime scene. Chatrie's attorneys argue that these warrants violate privacy by indiscriminately collecting data on people who have no connection to the crime, infringing on Fourth Amendment rights. Prosecutors, however, claim Chatrie had no expectation of privacy as he voluntarily opted into Google's Location History. Although a federal judge initially found Chatrie's rights violated, the evidence was still allowed due to the officer's reasonable belief in acting properly, and his conviction was upheld by an appeals court in Richmond. This contrasts with a separate federal appeals court in New Orleans, which ruled that geofence warrants do violate the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments later this year, setting a significant precedent for digital privacy in the U.S.
